IGN recently posted an article about the new series "Beware the Batman", but what drew me in to reading it was that the title of the article (as seen on the TV section) was "Beware the Batman won't include Joker".

This took me by complete surprise. A Batman show.....without Joker? So I read the article trying to understand what was going on and the creators of the show said that the show won't have Joker, Riddler, Penguin or any of the usual villains, they instead would have new villains to give the show a different feel from past iterations of Batman.

Now for the record the show hasn't come out yet and for we all know it could be good. I mean when CN showed Batman: The Brave and The Bold we thought it wasn't our Batman, it was too cheesy, too Adam West (who rocks by the way) and not enough Kevin Conroy (who also rocks). But the difference between Brave and Beware is that Brave had all the villains, especially Joker. In fact some of the best episodes involved the Joker, such as when an alternate earth Batman showed up in Gotham and tried to frame our Batman it was the Joker who knew what was going on and teamed up with Batman to take him down. Or the episode "Emperor Joker" where Joker (thanks to the Bat-Mite) gets the power of a God and uses them to literally kill Batman....then bring him back to life.....then kill him again.

The point is that every Batman iteration whether it be movies, tv, comics, or games it has had the classic Batman villains. Even if they were done terribly they were still there. They were all pulled from the Batman universe, and I'm afraid (again I don't know for sure cause I haven't seen the show) that people will turned off by the show because they know that villains like Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Mr.Freeze, Poison Ivy, Ra's al Ghul, etc. won't be in the show.

So today in this blog I'm going to tell you what I think should be the next Batman series. I'll explain what it should be about, who's in it, what form it should take, and what it shouldn't do. So let's start off by telling you what the name of my Batman show would be:

Gotham

Yep it's that simple, it doesn't even have Batman in the title. Why? Because Gotham is the true unspoken character in the Batman universe and in this series it'll get the respect it deserves. Second because it's one of the most popular cities in comic books. Honestly there's only two choices Gotham or Metropolis. When you talk about Batman Gotham City will be brought up eventually, even if it's only off-handedly.

Think about the recent Bat-movies by Christopher Nolan. What was basically the point of all three by the villains standpoint? To bring Gotham to it's knees or burn it to the ground. Ra's wanted to destroy Gotham, Joker wanted to break it from within, Bane wanted to (watch the movie and find out!) it never truly centered on Batman but on his city. There is no Batman without Gotham City. The city is a living breathing entity and the show will prove that.

But now to the important question: who's in it?

The answer is simple, the entire Bat-Family (both heroes and villains).

The true point of this series will be to show Gotham from the eyes of not just Batman but from his entire family. Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Robin (Tim Drake) will be in the show along with other friends such as Huntress, Batwoman, Batgirl (won't tell you which one though!) and so on and so forth. Batman is not alone and the show will reflect that.

I remember there was a point in time in the comics where there were five Bat-books I would read: Batman, Batman and Robin, Red Robin, Streets of Gotham, and Gotham City Sirens. Every one of them (with an exception or two storylines) were all based in Gotham but they were completely different books from completely different viewpoins and it was awesome! That's what I would want in Gotham, it's a huge city with many different types of people both good and bad and I want to show how they live and interact with the city.

Personally I would love to have an episode from Nightwing's perspective or Robin's showing us what they've learned from Batman and how they've changed from who they were to who they are. But not just the Bat-Family will be involved for there are some heroes who don't where masks. I think with Gotham there'll be an opprotunity to really show off the GCPD. Gordan, Bullock, Montoya, etc. These were characters who were shown off with great effect in Batman: TAS, why not do it again? They save Gotham just as much as Batman does, let's show them some respect.

Now for the villains. The one thing i'll give Beware is that they want to show off new villains, that's fine, just don't abandon the originals and only pull from the Bat-universe. I'm thinking of not just keeping Joker and Riddler and Ra's but giving a true introduction to some of the other great Batman villains, such as Black Mask, Hush, Prometheus, Azrael, Deadshot, Jane Doe, Zsasz, etc. There are a lot of great villains who haven't been explored for one reason or another but in this series there will be a chance to do it.

Now what will set this series apart from the others you ask? Aside from the expanded roster of heroes and villains? Well i'll answer that simply:

By pulling more from the comics.

A strong statement but accurate for what I want. Timeline wise the show will start after a bunch of key Batman events that have been skated over in past iterations. Such as Knightfall, The Killing Joke, and Death in the Family. And by starting with these events having already happened (and seen through flashbacks) we get to go into depth about the aftermath and get to put the characters into situations that we coudn't have done before. Such as....

Jason Todd. The second Robin has never been in any Batman TV series (he was in a movie but that doesn't count in this scenario). Having him in the show will add a necessary layer to Batman's story while also adding tense character moments. Also Oracle (Barbara Gordon) having been shot and paralyzed and now confined to a wheelchair we'll see how she's surviving after the event with Joker. But with the show following the comics more we can also officially introduce a character from the Bat-universe that no one would know of if they don't read the comics.

Damain Wayne. Yes the son Bruce and Talia al Ghul would be introduced to the world in this series. Because let me tell you i've been a Batman fan all my life, but because of where I lived I couldn't get comic books, fortunately a few years ago I found a store and started buying them and low and behold, Batman has a kid? When did that happen? And now in the comics he's a Robin so he's a very important character and should be shown in Gotham.

By calling back to the events in the Bat-Timeline we'll be able to show off new and exciting stories and situations that people wouldn't be able to experience outside of the comics. Which leads me to.....

Seasonal Arcs

This to me is very important, in Batman: TAS the majority of the episodes were standalones, fantastic standalones don't get me wrong but standalones none the less. In Gotham while there will be standalones there will also be hints and movement about the overall theme of the season.

For example the first season would be entitled "Arrivals". In the story it would be about how Gotham has seen a lull in crime. The city begins to hope that maybe just maybe there dark days are over....but Batman knows better. He knows that it may never be over....and he's right.

Because just as we are arriving in Gotham so to are the villains who have been gone for a while. Almost simultaneously a bunch of villains will start making there play for Gotham. The singular episodes will focus on the "villain-of-the-week" and Batman defeating them but the seasonal arc will be of a few key villains gathering their forces to declare war on Gotham itself and try to seize control. And the season finale will be of them doing just that, the three villains (I won't tell you who) gather their forces and decide to strike.

Season two titled "War" will feature a massive gang war between the three villains and their cronies and it'll be up to the Bat-Family to stop it before Gotham is destroyed.

Season three will be titled "The Death of Batman" and will be the aftermath of the gang war and the arrival of a stranger who wants to kill Batman (don't they all?) but it's how he does it that'll be interesting (and different than the comics). In the seven part arc called "Death's Shadow" Batman will go up against the worst of the worst of his rogues gallery and yes ladies and gentlemen he will indeed "die". Which will lead into the season finale which will indeed be the "Battle for the Cowl." And for the first time outside of the comics (and a brief look from Batman: The Brave and the Bold) we'll see Dick Grayson become the Batman. Which leads into...

Season four titled "Rebirth" will be about Dick and the rest of the Bat-Family protecting Gotham and dealing with the loss of Bruce.

And it'll go on from there but you get the idea. With seasonal arcs we'll get to go into more depth with the characters and get to see progression in regards of story and how it affects not only them but Gotham itself.

The Look of the Show

Now a recurring debate in tv shows of this kind (as we are seeing with DC Nation) is 2D animation vs. 3D animation. Beware and Green Lantern are both 3D and they look decent but for me nothing beats good 2D animation. Just some examples: Thundercats (please don't be cancelled!), Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, and of course Young Justice prove just how good 2D can look when done right. And that's what I want for Gotham, cause the look is just as important as the story.

In Gotham I want the look to change and reflect what is happening in the storyline/timeline. For example, in the first episode Gotham will look bright and cheerful, crime is down and the people are happy. But as time goes on and the villains return the city will begin to turn into the dark place we know it as, and nothing can do that better than 2D.

The Content

This will probably be the most controversial thing I say, I want this to be the darkest Batman series ever. Not just in look but content. Now for the record I don't want Batman to go off the deep end but I want the show to reflect just how bad a place Gotham can be. Think of it like the PG-13 DC animated movies they've put out, it'll be like that, people will die, bad things WILL happen, it's Gotham and I want to show that. Did you know that the Joker Gas from Batman: TAS was only created because they weren't allow to kill people? That won't be a problem here....although i'm sure we'll still use the gas.

But when would it be on then? Obviously I can't put it on DC Nation but we'll keep it with Cartoon Network. I'm thinking Adult Swim and if possible Toonami. Yes Toonami, it's back and it's struggling because the don't have the same shows like last time and it's not as good, this makes me sad cause I loved Toonami, especially when they had Outlaw Star on. And what better way to it bring back to relevancy than to put a new Batman show on it?

In Conclusion

This idea was spawned because I wondered what I would make if I had a chance to make a Batman series. I wanted a series that was as dark as Batman: TAS, cool like Batman Beyond, modern like The Batman, and not afraid to take a risk like Batman: The Brave and The Bold, and Gotham was what I came up with. And with the recent news that Beware the Batman would forsake an important part of the Bat-mythos I was really hurt. Why would they not include the classic rogues gallery? Because as any true Batman fan knows they don't just watch Batman for Batman, they watch it for the villains. Everybody has their favorite villain and they love to see that villain in as many episodes as possible. My personal favorite is Riddler, and he had some of the best episodes (in my opinion) in Batman: TAS and I enjoy watching them over and over again.

And that's why I wrote this blog, to post an idea that wouldn't just make me happy but make other Bat-Fans happy. To post an idea of a Batman show that was cool, dark, epic, rich in story and visually entertaining and most importantly has the characters whether good or bad that we all know and love. Batman: TAS showed us how to make a good Batman series. I think Gotham is the next logical step in showing Batman in a whole new way to fans both new and old.

The superhero world is full of engaging events that bring heroes and villains together like nothing else. But in the DC Universe there is a single world that any true DC knows and causes ripples the moment it's heard. The word is...

Crisis.

Mulitple DC events have been based on this word and every time the DC Universe is shaken up. Heroes die, villains win, worlds are born or destroyed, the very fabric of time is warped and twisted, nothing is off limits. But today i'm going to pose a very interesting question.

What if they made a Crisis event.....into a videogame?

No seriously, I mean it. What if DC decided to go full scale on their next videogame? Don't just focus on one hero (i.e. Batman, Superman, etc) but focus on a bunch of heroes in a totally original storyline with interesting gameplay. The title...

DC's Converging Crisis.

Allow me to setup the backdrop. Every Crisis event deals with one similar trait. Heroes, villains, or other people coming from an alternate Earth to ours or vice versa. In Converging Crisis i'm uping the ante to an extreme level. For in this storyline three major villains and their henchmen are transported to our Earth and quite literally take over the planet. Who are the villains? I'll get to that later, but needless to say our heroes are sufficiently and definitively defeated and the story and point of the game is to defeat the villains and take back Earth.

So since this is a videogame that involves a vast number of people from the DC Universe there are a couple of important questions that need to asked and answered. Starting with...

How will the story and game unfold?

This game will let the player play as seven different heroes (to be named next). Each hero has a different motive for saving the world and each character has a different move set and powers that the player will be able to control.

Now as for the story itself it'll play out as a mix between Flashpoint (the DC Event) and Falling Skies (the TV show). Allow me to explain. In Falling Skies the Earth is taken over by aliens. But the story itself doesn't start til about six months after the invasion and you start to learn about what happened as you progress through the show. This is how Converging Crisis will be, you'll know that the world has been conquered and that you're trying to take it back, but you won't know how or by who. As you progress through the story you'll pick up details of the takeover, who's alive and who's dead, and where everyone is right now.

As for the Flashpoint comparison in the DC event the main story followed Flash as he tried to figure out what happened to the world that literally changed in a flash. But in the several (and I mean several) tie-ins you found out about the rest of the world through the eyes of it's habitants. We find out who this worlds' Batman is, where Hal Jordan is, why Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war, etc. The more you read the clearer the picture got. This is similar in the game with the exception of that instead of having a main story surrounded by side stories every single character is part of the main story. Seven characters, seven stories, one puzzle that will be solved. Every story will be different and each will have it's own piece of the Crisis to be discovered. But who will discover them?

The Characters of the Game

When making a game of this scale character selection is important. You want to pick characters that are both familiar and yet relateable. However it's important to shake things up and let new characters shine along with seasoned veterans. The characters i've selected for this game are a mix of veterans that people will know while add some young guns and a suprise at the end.

Here the character backstories for the game starting with my personal favorite.

1.Billy Batson, aka SHAZAM!

Billy will be the first character you play as. You find out that during the Convergance (when the villains from the alternate Earths came to ours) Billy and his twin sister Mary were trying to help evacuate civilians while there was still time. During the evacuation however several villains broke through the heroes front lines and began attacking civilians, Mary sacrificed herself to get the people to safety

Billy was devasated by the death of Mary and refused to fight anymore. Instead he fled and lived off the streets while the villains continued to take over the Earth. Finally as Billy hit rock bottom in his depression Mary's Spirit reached out to Billy and told him to not give up hope. That others need him and it wasn't his fault she died. She reminds him that the wizard gave Billy his powers for a reason and that now was the time to use them.

Revitalized by her words Billy transforms into Shazam once again and sets out to find help to try and take back the world and just as important to take down the ones responsible for Mary's death. The Legion of Doom.

2. Jaime Reyes, aka Blue Beetle

Jaime Reyes was called upon during the Convergance to act as back-up in case things went bad. Needless to say they did. Jaime then found himself in an unfamiliar position, with most of the main Justice League members missing or dead there was no one left to organize the heroes. So Jaime took it upon himself to do just that. He searched far and wide and slowly began to reassemble the heroes, including finding his good friends Guy Gardner and Booster Gold. Guy informs him that things are even worse now than it was before.

One of the main villains who arrived during the Convergance was Sinestro, and he was not alone, Sinestro brought his entire Corps with him including their main power battery. After the main battle of the Covergance Sinestro went to and took over Coast City. He then used his power battery to set up a barrier outside the Earth so that no one from the outside could help them. If the battery is destroyed or even weakened the barrier will fall and Guy could call the Green Lantern Corps for backup to fight the Sinestro Corps.

Knowing what must be done Jaime readies the resistance to take back Coast City and destory the Yellow Lantern battery.

3. Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow

During the Convergance Green Arrow was on the front lines and watched in horror as he saw some of his closest friends fall one by one. Then as the world continued to fall he resigned him to the fact that the usual tactics wouldn't work. Locking himself away in one of his companies labs he began building up an arsenal for when he would go on his own one man crusade to save the world.

Now with his new bows, arrows, and specialty weapons he's taking back Earth the only way he feels he can....

By killing every single villain he comes across.

4. Carter Hall, aka Hawkman

As proud members of the Justice League both Hawkman and Hawkgirl where on the front lines during the Convergance. Mainly they fought against wave after wave of minions from Apokolips. During the fight they were both knocked out from a weapon by Desaad and were captured.

When Carter woke up he found himself inside a prison with his wife Shiera next to him. He struggles to get free but to no avail. Soon they are visited by Desaad who offers to release them if they swear alliegience to his master Darkseid. Both Carter and Shiera refuse promptly. Desaad laughs in response and tells them that there is more than one way to swear alliegience and has two of his guards take Shiera to a torture chamber. Carter again tries to break free but is again stopped and then knocked out.

This time when he wakes up Carter finds himself in a torture chamber but Shiera is nowhere to be found. Knowing that he has to get out and find her he slowly loosens his restraints and when confident he can get loose he tricks the guards into getting close and then breaks through his restraints and defeats them. Taking their weapons he breaks out and finds his armor and mace and sets out to find his wife.

5. Barry Allen, aka The Flash

The Fastest Man Alive is no stranger to time and dimensional travel. After the Convergance Barry realizes that all will be lost if they don't get additional help but with the Sinestro barrier hovering over the Earth and the rest of Earth's heroes scattered there was only one option left. Go to another Earth.

With this idea in his head Barry assembles other heroes such as the Atom to develop a Dimensional Gate that'll allow him to go to the worlds that the villains came from and see if there are any heroes left that are willing to help save their world.

Though he knows it's a longshot and possibly a one-way trip he activates the Dimension Gate and leaps into it.

6.Diana of Themyscira aka, Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman helped lead the charge during the Convergance with her fellow Justice League members. Due to the numerous enemies the League split up to handle them all. Superman helped lead the charge against the forces of Apokolips, Hal Jordan led the fight against the Sinestro Corps, while Batman and Wonder Woman led the heroes against the Legion of Doom.

During the fight however a sneak attack by members of the Legion led to Wonder Woman being severly wounded. Fearing that she might die Batman rescued her and took her back to the Batcave to be healed. He put her in a stasis chamber that would slowly revitalize her, but Batman knew that he couldn't abandon his fellow heroes and went back to the fight.

When Wonder Woman emerged from the chamber completely healed she immediately went to find Batman, but he was nowhere to be found and everyone she talked to didn't know where he was. Though she didn't like it she knew that the world was more important but she also knew that she wasn't strong enough to fight every threat. She returned to Themyscira and asked her mother for a set of enchanted armor that was made by Hephaestus. Knowing that he daughter may be the last hope against the coming darkness she agreed.

Now with new armor and a renewed purpose she returns to the world of man to fight on.

7. Terry McGinnis aka, Batman Beyond

I told you there was a suprise at the end.

Opening up in the future Terry and Bruce are talking about Gotham when suddenly Bruce starts to suffer what appears to be a heart attack. He recovers though and recognizes the feeling as not him dying now, but him dying in the past. He then activates a Time Viewer to see what is going on and sees footage of the Convergance and knows that didn't happen in his lifetime.

Fearing what might happen or will happen he goes deep into the BatCave and digs out a Time Machine (Batman has everything!) and tells Terry to go back to past to find him and make sure he stays alive. Cause if Bruce Wayne dies in the past the future will severly change. He sets the machine to transport Terry to Gotham City in the past during the event.

When Terry arrives he is shocked to see Gotham burning. As he flies around he sees multiple villains terrorizing the city. He goes to the BatCave and doesn't find anyone there. Suddenly confused for he was sure Bruce would be there he begins to think of what to do. Suddenly he's attacked by Nightwing. During the fight Terry explains who he is and that he's here to help. Nightwing is cautious but after Terry talks about future events and the identities of the entire Bat-Family he comes around.

Nightwing doesn't know where Bruce is but he's sure he's in Gotham which is currently under siege. He reveals that the entire Bat-Family is here trying to defend it from all the villains and that they could use Terry's help.

Terry agrees and they both fly out to save Gotham.

My All-Star Roster

Gameplay

So there you have my characters but then questions arises....how do I play as them?

The answer is that they all play differently and the scenarios will all play out differently. The gameplay will be third-person so you can see the characters do their thing but that doesn't mean they all act the same...

Billy Batson as SHAZAM will have enhanced speed, strength, smarts, and the ability to fly. He'll literally fly over the world looking for help and also beating up any bad guys he sees, but he'll also need to hide at times so he'll be able to transform into Billy and the gameplay will transform into a sneaking mission.

Jaime with his scarab will be able to transform his suit into different weapons that'll allow him to fight the Sinestro Corps whereever they are in Star City. But as the leader of the resistance he'll also be to call in help from his friends to defeat them or cause distractions so that Jaime can get to the battery.

The Green Arrow is the worlds greatest archer and you'll be able to use his arsenal to your full advantage. From explosion arrows, to trackers, to grapplers he has all kinds of arrows in his quiver. Which is good because Oliver has a hit list of villains that he wants to take out and you'll need to be accurate and quick to take them out.

Hawkman has his mace what else matters? As Carter Hall you'll try to escape the prision and try to find your wife Shiera, but along the way you'll find other heroes that'll help you find her and defeat Desaad. Close-quarters-combat is your game here because of the dungeon layout so you'll have to use your brute-strength to overpower the guards, fortunately your Hawkman so that shouldn't be a problem.

Flash will truly need to be the fastest man alive to survive the alternate Earth's he goes to. You'll use his speed to race around the world and find anyone and everyone who will help you take back your world. The Flash's gameplay will also feature certain events called "Speed Runs" where you and a couple other speedsters will be fighting at light-speed and you'll need to act fast to win.

Wonder Woman will of course have her super-strength and flight ability which will come in handy cause Diana is heading straight for a hornets nest via the LOD base, but also she'll have her magic lasso which she can use to beat-down the Legion of Doom. Her new armor will also give you special abilites as you progress.

As Batman Beyond Terry McGinnis has not only a suit but also an array of bat-gadgets to use. As mentioned above Gotham is under siege from a vast array of villains and you'll be able to search the city for enemies to fight. You'll have complete control of where you go, but you'll also recieve messages from members of the Bat-Family asking for help, team-up and save the city or be a one-bat wrecking crew. It's all up to you.

Will you be able to save the world?

The Crisis has come, the Earth has fallen, and few heroes are left standing. The fate of the world is now in your hands.

With Converging Crisis there will be a rich, deep story that'll rival any DC Event, gameplay that will be rich and fluid, much like a certain other DC game that came out, and a world that is begging to be explored. And with this being a non-continuity game there are an infinite amount of possibilites that could take place.

If this game was made I would have DC put their best writers on this to help expand the story: Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Paul Cornell, etc. Then we'd go to a studio that could truly help deliver a rich gameplay experience that would rival Arkham City.

What i've talked about today is just the tip of the iceberg, imagine if we got all the way down?